APPLE is handing out sweeping upgrades to millions of iPhone owners around the world – and that's not all.
The company has finally announced its iOS 18 update, which lets you lock and truly hide apps – and so much more.
The big iOS 18 update was announced during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, June 10.
The WWDC event is where Apple announces its major software updates for the year.
That means brand-new (and totally free) features coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and the company's new Vision Pro headset.
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I-LOVE IT!
Apple revealed a huge selection of new features.
There's a new and easier to use Control Center – and iMessage will now let you "tapback" reply with any emoji or sticker that you like.
And the ability to customize the Lock Screen letting you swap and even replace the flashlight and camera buttons for other features.
But that might not feel as impressive to many people as the changes coming to the Home Screen.
Apple is finally letting you put an icon wherever you like on the Home Screen.
It’s been possible on Android for years (as Google fans so regularly remind iPhone owners) but now it’s coming to iOS.
What’s more, you’ll even be able to change the colors of icons to make your iPhone feel more personal to you. It’s like Christmas come early (and you could even choose Christmas reds and greens, if you’re feeling festive).
You can also lock apps (and their notifications) so that people using your phone can't access them.
And it's even possible to properly hide those apps inside a locked folder.
The Mail app is also getting a Gmail-like feature that automatically categorizes incoming messages.
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It should help you find genuinely important emails without being inundated with promotions from a store you visited once and were awkwardly press-ganged into signing up for notifications for.
A new Tap to Cash feature lets you hold your phone near someone else's to quickly transfer money using Apple Pay.
And there's a new Game Mode that minimizes background activity to improve frame rates – and boosts responsiveness with AirPods and wireless game controllers.
COMING...SOON?
The downside is that you won’t get these new features for a while.
As they’re part of the iOS 18 update, they’ll likely arrive in September.
That means they'll land alongside the likely release of Apple's rumoured iPhone 16.
But Apple usually lets you test out features early if you join the beta, so expect a trial release in summer like last year.
Beta software updates can be buggy however, so if you're worried about that then it's best to wait for the general release later in the year.
Earlier this year, we predicted that the iOS 18 release date would fall on Monday, September 16.
There's no telling exactly when the new software will land, but it's likely to be close to that date.
